Curb extruding machine



Jan. 16, 1968 c cc 3,363,524

CURB EXTRUDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 28, 1965 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTORZGERALD A. CATENACC/ Y I Calla/19A g; Wanna/1,

Jan. 16, 1968 G. A. CATENACCI 3,363,524

CURB EXTRUDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 28, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

GERALD A. CATENACCI Cal/allay & War/nan Jan. 16, 1968 G. A. CATENACCI3,363,524

CURB EXTRUDING MACHINE Filed Dec. 28, 1965 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 FIG. 8

wvE/vrom- GERALD ANTHONY cArEA/Acc/ 8y" Cal/allay. 8 Worman UnitedStates Patent ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This specification discloses amobile concrete forming machine in which concrete is forced through amold under compression and is simultaneously subjected to vibration.

The invention relates to apparatus for continuously extruding highwaycurbs and the like and is a continuation-in-part of United States patentapplication Ser. No. 472,107, filed July 15, 1965, now abandoned.

The construction of highway curbs and the like out of concrete by handis a laborious and time consuming process and many attempts have beenmade to build machines for extruding curbs in place on a highway withoutthe need for arrangement of shuttering or other hand operations.However, the majority of such prior machines have been designed toextrude normal concrete of the type requiring extended drying time andhaving an appreciable slump with the result that either such machinesrequired to be used in association with auxiliary shuttering to supportthe cement or concrete, or in the alternative, they could only be usedin certain limited applications where the shaping of the concrete had arelatively low or flattened profile. Such machines were in generalunsuited for operation with low slump concrete of the type which driesvirtually instantaneously because the latter type of concrete requiresto be agitated and preferably compacted under pressure in order todevelop its maximum strength, and such prior machines were generallyincapable of either applying pressure or of agitating the concrete. Inaddition, some prior art machines have been designed for mounting onrails or some form of semi-permanent way, the laying of which would takeat least as long as the laying of the shuttering for the manual formingof the curb and hence, any advantage achieved by the faster operation ofthe machine was lost in the set-up time. In addition, such prior artmachines have been incapable of permitting the introduction of expansionjoints at predetermined intervals along the curb and have not providedmeans for changing the profile of the curb to permit, for example, theforming of a driveway. A still further disadvantage was that in manycases a hand finishing operation was required to provide a smoothwater-proof surface on the upper portion of the curb to provide themaximum resistance to frost and rain water damage with the result thatthis latter operation had to be done by a gang of workmen following themachine.

It is therefore an objective of the invention to provide apparatus forextruding concrete curbs which is adapted for operation directly on theground and in which low slump concrete may be used to the greatestadvantage and both compacted and agitated under pressure and in whichthe surface of such concrete may be subjected to a finishing operation.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide an apparatus having the foregoing advantages in which means areprovided for the introduction of expansion joints at intervals along thecurb.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide an apparatus having the foregoing 3,353,524 Patented Jan. 16,1%68 advantages in which means are provided for assisting in theformation of driveways and the like in the finished curb.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide an apparatus having the foregoing advantages which is providedwith automatic guide means.

More particularly, it is an objective of the present invention toprovide an apparatus having the foregoing advantages in which the curbshaping portion of the apparatus may be raised and lowered duringoperation so as to compensate for any irregularities in the groundsurface.

The foregoing and other advantages will become ap parent from thefollowing description of a preferred embodiment of the invention whichis here given by way of example only and in which like reference devicesrefer to like parts thereof throughout the various views and diagrams,and in which:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective of the curb forming apparatus according to theinvention with portions thereof cut-away and other portions shown inphantom form;

FIGURE 2 is a top plan view of a portion of the apparatus shown inFIGURE 1 with portions shown thereof in phantom form;

FIGURE 3 is a schematic side elevation of the apparatus shown in FIGURE1 with the parts shown in phantom form;

FIGURE 4 is a greatly enlarged perspective View of a portion of theapparatus for compacting and agitating the concrete; and

FIGURE 5 is an end elevational view partly in section along the line 5-5 of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 6 is a cut-away perspective view of a further embodimentcorresponding to the portions illustrated in FIGURE 4;

FIGURE 7 is a side elevational view of a still further embodiment;

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of the embodiment of FIGURE 7;

FIGURE 9 is a section along the line 9-9 of FIGURE 8; and

FIGURE 10 is a sectional side elevation of a further embodiment.

From FIGURE 1 it will 'be seen that the curb extruding machine accordingto the present invention comprises a main body portion 10 to one end ofwhich may be bolted the curb shaping form 11 of any desired shape andwhich is interchangeable to provide curbs of different shapes fordifferent highway requirements. The machine is supported on any suitabletrack laying type of system such as wheels 12 and 13 supporting tracks14 and 15 and eing themselves supported by any suitable suspension meansindicated generally as 16 and 17. Adjustment means such as jack screw 17and hand wheel 18 may be provided for raising and lowering the curbshaping member 11 relative 'to the tracks 14 and wheels 12. Any suitablemotor indicated generally as 19 which may be driven, for example, byelectricity, compressed air, or gasoline, is connected by means of chaindrive 20 and drive sprocket 21 to one of wheels 13 for driving themachine forwardly in the direction of the arrow A, a similar drivesystem being provided on the opposite side of the apparatus which isconcealed from view and not shown for the sake of clarity. A controlpanel 22 is provided at the forward end of the vehicle which isaccessible to an operator either walking beside the machine or standingupon body portion 10.

A concrete hopper or container 23 is provided above main body 10 feedingdownwardly through chute portion 24 thereof which may be continuouslyreplenished by a suitable supply vehicle (not shown) travelling besidethe instant apparatus and feeding into hopper 23.

As is the usual custom in this type of construction, the line of thecurb to be layed is defined by means of a string or guide line indicatedas L supported on spaced posts indicated as P, these forming no part ofthe present invention and being shown here by way of explanation.However, in order that the present apparatus may be correctly guided andlay the curb in the desired location, guidance is taken directly ofi theline L by means of at least two line sensing members provided at theforward and rearward ends of the apparatus (only one being shown herefor the sake of clarity) and supported in spaced relation to one side ofthe apparatus by means of cantilever arms 26. Sensing devices 25 areprovided with any suitable form of pressure or contact sensitiveelectrical means for sensing contact of the line L with one or otherside wall of the members 25 and applying a correcting electrical signalto the control mechanism of the apparatus for applying a correctivefactor to the guidance system thereof by any suitable means, or, whichmay merely provide a visible readout to an operator who may immediatelymake the necessary guidance corrections. :It will be appreciated, thatthe apparatus may be normally moving relative slowly at the rate ofpossibly one-half mile per hour and accordingly, any such corrections inguidance whether made automatically or by hand will effectively beinstantaneous having regard to the relatively slow rate of forwardmovement of the apparatus and indeed, in many cases, it would besutficient merely if the guidance error indication were in the form of abell for example, or a flashing red or green light. However, it isconsidered desirable that such guidance should be taken directly off theline L which is layed in position by the surveyor of the entire roadwaysystem or under his supervision and control since the possibility ofmultiplication of error arising from the laying of intermediate guidancesystems such as rails or the like is thereby avoided, and in addition,the very considerable expense and wastage of time involved in the layingof guidance rails and the like is thereby eliminated.

As has been stated above, the apparatus according to the presentinvention is specifically intended for use in relation to low slumpconcrete of a type well known in accordance with the standardizeddefinitions accepted in the art and layed down by specification in thebuilding and contracting trades. As stated, the forming of such lowslump concrete into a well finished and highly durable curb requires atleast two separate functions namely, in the first place the concretemust be compacted and formed under preferably high-frequency vibratoryagitation and pressure, and, in the second place, the surfaces of suchcurb which are to be exposed to constant weathering should preferably befree of any exposed gravel or large stones and in fact, appear as acompletely smooth finished cement surface thereby offering the smallestpossible pores.

For this purpose, pressurized agitation means are provided in the formof a plurality of air operated pressures cylinders 27, in this case,four of such cylinders are provided, which are mounted in spacedparallel relationship and connected by suitable means (not shown) to asource of air pressure supply, preferably through control panel 22 whichincorporates means for programming the op eration of cylinders 27whereby the same operate in sequence so that only one is withdrawnrearwarclly while the other two are moving forwardly or vibrating.Cylinders 27 are each provided with connecting rods 28 extendingtherefrom at the free end of which is mounted the vibratable pressureplate unit 29 preferably incorporating high-frequency vibratable meanswhich are operable continuously apply a high-frequency vibration forcompacting the concrete during its forming and extrusion. Pressuremembers 2 are provided with shrouds 3t of rectangular shape buttedaround the periphery thereof and extending rearwardly therefrom over thefull extent of connecting rods 28 and overlapping at least a portion ofcylinders 27 whereby to avoid feeding of concrete behind pressuremembers 29 when the same are moved forwardly. In addition, pressuremembers 29 are provided along their upper straight edges with a seriesof deep serrations or teeth 31 which are shaped and adapted to mate withcorresponding indentations 32 formed in the upper surface of the forwardend of form 11, the purpose being to provide a combing action to theconcrete being formed into form 11 whereby to cause any stones in theconcrete being formed to become pressed downwardly into the main body ofsuch concrete thereby leaving an upper surface of substantially purecement for subjecting to a suitable finishing operation. It will ofcourse be appreciated that while any suitable known form ofhighfrequency vibration means is considered to be the most desirablesystem for use in pressure plate units 29, other forms of vibrationsystems operating at lower frequencies and by a variety of means, bothmechanical and even by pneumatic means will be fully effective in manyinstances and may well prove to be more reliable over periods ofextended hard wear.

In order to provide for changing the profile of the curb being extruded,to provide a stepped portion as in a driveway for example, it will beappreciated that the forming of the finished surface of the steppedportion for the driveway will, in general, be beyond the practicallimits of the apparatus, but however, it is desirable for the totalquantity of concrete being extruded to be as closely as possible equalto the volume of concrete required in the stepped down portion to avoidwaste of concrete and to avoid the necessity for substantially alteringthe shape and molding of the extruded concrete which, will have becomeset to at least a semi-hard condition by the time it is fully extrudedand clear of the apparatus. Accordingly, the mask member 33 of a widthequal to the interior width of the vertically upstanding portion 11a ofform 11 is slidably insertable into form 11 through slot 34 formedtherein for the purpose, and is supported by means of support bracket 35located and oriented to support the upper end of mask member 33 whichwould otherwise be forced rearwardly by pressure of concrete thereuponwithin form 11. It will be appreciated that the location of slot 34 inform 11 is just beyond the extreme forward limit of the stroke of aircylinders 27, and that during the time when mask member 33 is loweredinto form 11, the cylinder 27 in registration therewith can, by theoperation of suitable control means, be taken out of operation.

In order to provide a smooth finished coat on the extruded concrete,power operated finishing means are provided comprising any suitablerotary or orbital finishing pads (not shown) concealed within housings36 and operated by means of electrical or compressed air motors 37continuously applying a polishing or finishing movement to the upperexposed surfaces of the concrete, the other surfaces of the curb beingsurrounded either by earth or by the finished roadway in accordance withknown construction practices.

In operation, hopper 23 is partially filled with low slump concrete insome cases, directly from a readymix truck which may be driven slowlyalongside the apparatus. The operator will then commence cyclicaloperation of air cylinders 27. Such operation moves each of aircylinders 27 separately in a predetermined sequence whereby three ofsuch air cylinders 27 are applying pressure while only one is withdrawnto gather a fresh charge of concrete from hopper 23. As one cylinder 27is operated to withdraw connecting rod 28 and pressure unit 29, sleeve33 slides rearwardly over the respective cylinder 27 thereby leaving aclear space in front of pressure unit 29 which will immediately becomefilled with loose concrete whcreafter cylinder 27 is operated in thereverse direction forcing the connecting rod and pressure units 28 and29 forwardly drawing with them sleeve 30 once more. This operationpushes the concrete forwardly into form 11 and at the same time preventsthe movement of any further concrete from hopper 23 downwardly aroundconnecting rod 28, As such forward movement is continued, the vibrationmeans within pressure unit 29 are operated and pressure on the concreteis slowly built up and maintained at a steady level thereby forcing thesame along form 11 slowly and steadily. In order to permit such movementto take place, motor 19 will drive the entire apparatus forwardly at aspeed just corresponding to the rate of extrusion of concrete from form11. As the concrete passes along form 11, the combing action of members32 within form 11 will force any large stones located in the uppersurface there of downwardly while permitting the thinner cement and finestones to come to the surface. After passage along the length of members32, the upper inner surface of form 11 flattens out to provide a smoothsurface smoothing out the thinner cement and fine stone to provide afine even upper surface without large stones extending upwardlytherefrom and rendering the surface in a highly suitable condition forthe finishing operation by means of conventional type known in the artof the rotary or orbital finishing means driven by motors 37. Afterextrusion from the form 11 it may be necessary for one or two men toconduct a further minor clean-up finishing operation which is only asmall proportion of the total manual labor involved in the laying ofsuch curbs by hand and which in any case can be done at a speed equal toor greater than the speed of operation of the apparatus by one or twomen only. When it is desired to form a curb with a step-down for adriveway for example, mask member 33 is inserted into slot 34 andsupported in position therein by means of bracket 35. The cylinder 27 inregistration with mask 33 in the vertically extending portion 11:: ofform 11 is taken out of operation at the point where its connecting rod28 and pressure unit 29 are in the forward point of their stroke, shroudor sleeve 30 having being first removed to permit downward movement ofconcrete from hopper 23 in front of the pressure unit 29 of the cylinder27 located immediately therebeneath. The operation of the machine willthen continue as before although, it will be appreciated that a portionof the curb corresponding to the width of mask 23 will have a roughunfinished surface and will require hand finishing to a considerabledegree to provide a smooth and long lasting surface. However, since suchdriveways will normally be relatively infrequent in relation to thetotal curb laying operation, such additional finishing operation canreadily be taken care of by the machine operators themselves without therequirement of any additional staff.

In the event that uneven ground is encountered, this will normallybecome apparent from the guidance means 25 contacting the line L andpressing the same downwardly. The moment such a downward movement isdetected, jack screws 17 may be operated by hand to raise form 11 inrelation to wheels 12 and tracks 14 thereby restoring normal level ofcurb once more. Similarly, if the guidance system 25 encounters asideways pressure from line 11 the operator can take immediatecorrective action by hand speeding up one or other of motors 1? to bringthe apparatus back onto the true direction of the curb once more.

As stated, it is necessary that such curbs be layed at quite frequentintervals with expansion joints of known material such as tarpaper andthe like. In the normal hand operation this presents no problem.However, in the case of the present invention, the insertion of such anexpansion joint can be performed merely by allowing hopper 23 to becomeempty and then withdrawing all of connecting rods 28 and pressure units29 by operating cylinders 27 simultaneously and over-riding their normalsequential operation. Access can then be had to the interior of thewhole of form 11 and a suitable pressure joint member can then beinserted after which hopper 23 is filled once more and normal operationis resumed thereby sandwiching the pressure joint in the curb as it isbeing extruded.

Again, where such expansion joint has been inserted, it will normally befound necessary that some minor additional finishing operation will berequired but again, since this work is intermittent and merely requirestrowelling the amount of actual hand labor involved is negligible.

While the foregoing apparatus will be satisfactory in many cases, therewill be instances, particularly in the case of a curb having verticalsections of relatively great height, that more vigorous agitation andcompacting action will be required. Accordingly, provision may be madefor stronger agitation according to the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE6. In this embodiment, air cylinder 27 and connecting rod 28 are coupledto and axially aligned air operated reciprocating hammer unit 40 of thedesign corresponding to the well known so-called jack hammer as used byconstruction workers providing a linear axial reciprocating motion inresponse to a continued predetermined air pressure being maintainedwhich may be supplied as by air hose 41. A hammer shaft 42 extends fromhammer unit 40 to hammer face plate 43 which is connected to shroud 30and provided with serrated teeth 31 along its upper edge as described inconnection with pressure unit 29, In this way, continued extrusionpressure is maintained by means of steady pressure in air cylinder 27 asdescribed above, and the compacting vibration action is provided bymeans of a linear hammering along the axis of shaft 28 by means ofhammer unit 40 and hammer plate 43. It is found that this compactingaction forces the concrete into the shape of the form of mold somewhatmore quickly and forcefully than is the case with highfrequency or otherform of agitation and permits also faster operation.

A still further embodiment is illustrated in FIGURES 7, 8 and 9. Thelaying of extended lengths of curbs, as stated above, requires theinsertion of periodic expansion joints, usually formed of tar paper orsome such similar material. Such expansion joint material may beinserted in the manner described above. However, it has now been foundto be more convenient and expeditious if the embodiments of FIGURES 7, 8and 9 are used for this purpose. Where the insertion of an expansionjoint member previously required the emptying of the hopper 23, therewas a tendency for the mold member 11 to be only partially filledresulting in the expansion member becoming displaced from the normalvertical alignment in the curb. Accordingly, this may now be overcome bymounting the hopper 23 on slide rail means indicated as 45 extendingalong either side of the mold member 11 and engaging a slide lip 46mounted on either side of hopper 23. Any suitable power operated meansmay be provided for moving hopper 23 along slide rails 45 such as afurther air cylinder 47 connected thereto by the shaft 48.

In operation, when it is desired to insert an expansion joint member(not shown) the hopper 23 may simply be slid forward over mold member 11along rails 45 thereby exposing the open portion of mold member 11 aboveconnecting rods 28. Air cylinders 27 may then be operated to withdrawconnecting rods 28 and pressure plates 43 thereby exposing the face ofthe concrete in the mold member 11. The expansion joint insert may thensimply be dropped into place and the hopper 23 may be slid back over theopening permitting further concrete to fall downwardly thereinto andoperation of air cylinders 27 may be resumed once more.

Where it is desired to eliminate the additional flexible hose lengths41, the hammer unit 40 may constitute the whole of shaft 28, and unit 40may be extended rearwardly into the interior of cylinder 27, as shown inFIG- URE 10. It will be noted that in this case the unit 40 may beprovided with side walls 49 extending along the full length of cylinder27 and provided with piston rings such as 50 for sealing engagementtherewith. Shaft 42 is slidably retained as by collar 51 and issubjected to impact shock vibration by free piston 52 reciprocablycarried within side walls 49 of unit 40. Air entry port 7' 53 admitscompressed air from within cylinder 27 and ports 54 transfer air fromone side of piston 52 to the other in known manner thereby producing avibrator action.

The foregoing is a description of a preferred embodiment of theinvention which is here made by way of example only. The invention isnot to be taken as limited to the specific steps described butcomprehends all such variations that come within the spirit and scope ofthe appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. Concrete extrusion apparatus for use in the formation of concretecurbs and the like and comprising: carriage means having front and rearends; an extrusion mold member at the rear end of said carriage meansand defining a concrete flow path therethrough; concrete hopper meanscommunicating with said mold member to pass concrete thereto; at leastone pressure member to contact concrete in said mold member; vibrationmeans connected to each said pressure member and operable to cause saidpressure member to apply continuous vibration to concrete under pressurewithin said mold member, pressure cylinder means connected to respectivesaid pressure members and operable to procure reciprocable movementthereof into and out of said mold member and to force said pressuremembers into contact with concrete therein under pressure.

2. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including rotarysurface finishing means incorporated with said mold member and operableto smooth the surface of concrete passing therethrough.

3. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a maskmember adapted for insertion into a portion of said mold member forblanking off the same.

4. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including atleast two said pressure members arranged side by side on parallel axesand having respective said pressure cylinder means connected thereto,and control means for said pressure cylinder means cyclically operablein sequence.

5. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including guidemeans on said carriage means to detect deviations of same from apredetermined path.

6. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, includingadjustment means connected between said carriage means and said moldmember for raising and lowering said mold member.

7. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, wherein saidvibration means comprises reci procable piston means mounted betweensaid pressure cylinder means and said pressure member and is operable tocause said pressure member to apply linear reciprocable shock movementto said concrete in said mold member along the extrusion axis thereofwhile under pressure from said pressure cylinder means.

3. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, includingconcrete hopper means, and slidable mounting means movably locating saidhopper in communication with said mold member.

9. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, includingconcrete hopper means, slidable mounting means movably locating saidhop-per in communication with said mold member, and power operable meansconnected to said hopper means for moving same.

10. Concrete extrusion apparatus as claimed in claim 1, includingserrations formed in the upper surface of said mold member andcomplementing projections on said pressure member.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 286,861 10/1883 Speed 94-462,049,115 7/1936 Hadley 9446 2,332,688 10/1943 Baily 9446 2,541,5472/1951 Robinson 9446 2,818,790 1/1958 Canfield et al 9446 2,932,8754/1960 Butcher 94-46 FOREIGN PATENTS 610,234 12/1960 Canada.

OTHER REFERENCES Engineering News Record (page 35); Sept. 26, 1963.

JACOB L. NACKENOFF, Primary Examiner.

